


Life & Death

by HurricaneJane



Series: Quality Ingredients One Shots [3]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22085197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HurricaneJane/pseuds/HurricaneJane
Summary: Prompt: Can we see some more about Aden's birth / Anya and Lexa finding out about the accident?
Series: Quality Ingredients One Shots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589668
Comments: 2
Kudos: 151





	Life & Death

“What took you so long?” Anya shouted as Lexa skidded past her hospital room door, stumbled, back tracked, then hurried in. Lexa was disheveled, long curly hair askew, her tank top was soaked with beer and there was lipstick on her jaw.

“It took me a while to find someone who could drive!” Lexa braced herself against the side of Anya’s bed and tried to act poised. She stank of cheap beer, dance floor sweat and curious teenaged girls. The knees of her jeans had grass stains on them and Anya didn’t want to speculate why that might be.

“Are you fucking drunk right now?” Anya snapped. She looked so much like her mother when she glared at Lexa, bit the tip of her tongue and shook her head as she tried to hold in more wrath. Anya didn’t know it, but it was the same look her mother had been giving the two of them since they were little girls.

“I mean, only a little?” Lexa shrugged and offered up a cheeky grin. “It’s only eight-thity.” 

“Go get a coffee, you dick!” Anya cringed at the start of pain in her stomach. She gripped her belly with one hand and swatted Lexa with the other.

“My parents are in the Bahamas for three weeks!” Lexa flinched away with a tipsy giggle. “I’m in the middle of an epic bender! We’re graduating this month! People expect this from me!” Lexa said indignantly and stood up taller.

“What did you do about the par-AAHHHH!” Anya gritted her teeth and doubled over as the contraction came. 

“Jeremy’s there. He’s handling it for me,” Lexa instinctively put a supportive hand on Anya’s back. “Did you call your dad? Do you need me to do it?”

“He’s trying to get a flight home from his conference,” Anya leaned back against her pillow and took a few deep breaths. Her forehead was sweaty. She had clawed at the ties on the hospital gown shouting that it was too tight just before Lexa arrived. Anya looked exhausted and she was just getting started. 

“How long do they think?” Lexa trailed off. Her eyes lingered on Anya’s pregnant belly.

“I’m dilated but not enough. Could be a little while,” Anya grunted as she tried to adjust herself to a remotely comfortable position.

“Isn’t this a month early?” Lexa asked. “Is everything okay?” she tacked on quietly.

“Yeah,” Anya took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Apparently that happens sometimes.”

*****

“Lexa!” Anya’s five aunts, their husbands, their kids and a handful of neighbors were all in the waiting room.

“Hey, Peggy,” Lexa had her party clothes folded up in her hands. She had a set of baby blue scrubs on. “They gave me something to wear. My filthy party clothes do not pass birthing room inspection,” Lexa chuckled. She was coming up on sober. The excitement of the event brought a new kind of buzzed. “Would you mind keeping an eye on them? My phone and my wallet and stuff are in the pockets.”

“You bet! How’s our girl holding up?” Peggy squealed with excitement. They all leaned forward waiting for the answer. Each one of them looked like they might burst in anticipation.

“She’s doing great! They’re going to take her in soon!” Lexa grinned. “I’ve gotta get back.” Lexa hustled to Anya and left her gushing family in the waiting room.

*****

“This is fucking terrible!” Anya screamed. She grabbed Lexa’s hand and squeezed it with everything she had. 

“You’re doing great, Anya. Remember your breathing! The baby is doing well. We need you to push!” The doctor was so patient. She didn’t ask any questions about where the father was. Where Anya’s mother was. Why Anya, who was so young, only had a teenager with her.

“I don’t think I can do it,” Anya whimpered through tears. She gripped Lexa’s hand harder and lolled her head back as she gasped for breath.

“Yes, you can! Come on!” Lexa kept her hand in Anya’s hand and reached out to help Anya sit up. 

“Lex, this is awful,” Anya whined. She looked absolutely miserable.

“I know, but you’re almost done!” Lexa tried.

“She’s right. You’re so close, Anya!” The doctor agreed.

“You got this! Come on, Anya!” Lexa gave her best encouraging smile. Anya took a few deep breaths and gave another push complete with expletives and intangible screaming.

“The head is out, next is the shoulders and it’s all downhill from here!” The doctor coached.

“I wish I knew who did this to me so I could fucking kill him!” Anya screamed.

“We’ll find out after! I’ll help! Now, push!” Lexa cried. Anya let out another round of strangled swears. 

A little cry filled the room. 

Lexa’s eyes widened. She let Anya crush her hands with her grip. She was so transfixed. She watched in awe as the smiling doctor put the tiny human on Anya’s chest.

“Oh my god,” Lexa let out involuntarily. She had been bracing herself for it to be gross. She was ready to say something inappropriate and hope Anya would forgive her.  
She was prepared to pass out. 

Lexa didn’t feel any of that. She was too amazed and completely captivated. 

“Anya,” Lexa said in total awe. “You made a person.”

“You made a very healthy baby boy,” the doctor held out a pair of scissors. “Normally the dad does the honor. Anya, do you want to cut the cord?”

“She can do it,” Anya couldn’t look away from the baby on her chest. He was covered in good and crying something terrible, but couldn’t have been more perfect.

“I can what?” Lexa swallowed hard. The scissors the doctor placed in her hands felt too heavy in her stunned grip.

“I want you to do it for me,” Anya, completely exhausted and on the other side of an incredibly intense experience, couldn’t stop smiling at her baby boy.

*****

“It’s a boy!” Lexa shouted triumphantly to the wall of expectant faces in the waiting room. They erupted into cheers, grabbed each other up in hugs and all piled onto Lexa. “She was amazing! He’s amazing! The whole thing was just, it was amazing!” Lexa balled her hands up into excited fists.

“Thank god she had you there!” Peggy came forward with Lexa’s phone and wallet. “We’ve been trying to reach her mother and your parents to share the good news so they can turn that damn yacht around and get up here!” 

“Has anyone heard from Uncle Gus?” Lexa asked.

“He’s in the air right now on his way,” Peggy beamed. “Your phone has been ringing off the hook, Miss Popularity!” Peggy teased.

“Thanks,” Lexa took the phone and opened it up.

There were eleven missed calls from her father’s assistant. She shared a high five and a huge proud smile with Anya’s cousin Mary as she put the phone to her ear to listen to the voicemails.

The words that came through the line didn’t sound real.

She felt like she should play it again to make sure she heard it right, but she couldn’t make her fingers do it.

It couldn’t be real.

They couldn’t.

One by one, the cousins and uncles and aunts and friends noticed Lexa’s eyes glassing over. Her shoulders grew rigid. She clenched her jaw and brought a hand to her mouth half to hold in a sob and half to keep from getting sick.

It was real.

“Lex, Honey?” Peggy tried. “Is everything okay?”

Their celebrations slowed to a halt. No one knew what it was, but they could feel the change in the air. Lexa’s sick, devastated expression said too much and not enough all at once.

“No,” Lexa replied after a deep breath. 

She drew in another, shakier this time. Everyone waited. It felt like eons passed while she tried to get the words from her brain to her lips to make them real and bring this nightmare to life.

“My father’s boat,” she tried. Her voice cracked. She swallowed hard and tried again. 

“Oh my word,” a whisper shot up from the back. She wasn’t sure who it was. It didn’t really matter.

“They’re all dead,” Lexa barely got out.

An unimaginable beat of silence dropped on the room. They moved all as one to hug her at the same time like a wave of confused and misplaced support. She held her hands up and they froze in unison. She didn’t say another word before turning on her heel and making her way back to Anya.

She didn’t cry right away.

Anya dozed in her bed holding the baby swaddled in a blanket in her arms. She opened one eye when she heard Lexa’s shoes on the floor.  
“Hi,” Lexa said softly. She leaned her hip against the edge of Anya’s bed. She hugged her arms around herself. The scrubs they gave her to wear were a size too big. 

Her bony teenaged shoulders made them look even larger.

“Hi,” Anya replied. She stifled a yawn. 

“Did you name him?” Lexa gestured at the baby. 

“I did,” Anya nodded once. Her voice was hoarse from screaming all night. “Aden. After Grandpa.”

“I like that,” Lexa cleared her throat. 

“What’s wrong?” Anya asked. She could feel it coming off of Lexa. Something terrible happened.

“I don’t know how to say it,” Lexa’s eyes welled up. Her throat felt thick. The urge to puke was back as she juggled the words in her head and tried to get them to her lips.

It was real. 

“Lexa?” Anya sat up as best she could. “What the fuck is going on?” Her eyebrows knit together. There was an uncomfortable, nervous waiver in her voice.

“My dad’s assistant was trying to reach me while you were in labor,” Lexa let out a little cough to try and keep her tears at bay. “The boat, An. They got caught in bad weather and the boat went down.”

“What?” Anya yelped. 

It couldn’t be real.

“They’re all dead,” Lexa finally broke down. She leaned over and rested her elbows on the edge of Anya’s mattress and her body wracked with sobs. Anya instinctively wrapped her arm a little tighter around Aden as tears instantly fell from her eyes. She covered her face with her free hand.

Peggy followed Lexa and found them like that. Lexa hunched over with her head in Anya’s lap. Anya holding her baby and covering her eyes. She backed slowly out of the room and motioned for the line of them that tried to discretely followed her to back up.

“Get in,” Anya slid over and Lexa climbed into bed with her. She settled in under Anya’s arm. They clung to each other and both quietly let out confused, devastated tears. No one said anything else. Aden slept. He didn’t cry. None of the family came in to see them. 

It was real.

“I’m sorry about your mother,” Lexa finally spoke up. She wasn’t sure if it had been a few minutes or a few hours. Neither would have surprised her.

“I’m sorry about your parents,” Anya tried to smile reassuringly at her but she just couldn’t do it.

“Your baby boy is beautiful,” Lexa let out a deep breath that kept hitching in her throat.

“He really is,” the smile almost made it. “I’m here for you, okay? Whatever you need.”

“I’m going to help you,” Lexa gestured at the sleeping baby. “I promise.”

Anya found one of Lexa’s hands and have it a squeeze. They both knew they were going to have to face Anya’s family soon. They knew they were going to have to leave the sanctuary of the hospital bed and each other’s comfort, but for now, they laid together in the quiet and tried to feel safe, just the three of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much! I love each and every one of you.


End file.
